A Black man is accusing a Maryland Chick-fil-A employee of typing a racial slur on his receipt.
In a Facebook post, Marquise Vanzego said a white employee took his order when he visited the Chick-fil-A drive-thru last week. Vanzego said he gave the employee his first name, “Marquise,” for the order, but when he pulled around to receive his food, the word “Monkeys” was printed on his receipt.
“This racist and derogatory labeling is not only deeply offensive but also humiliating as a 52-year-old African American adult male,” Vanzego wrote on Facebook. “The sheer hurt of seeing that word takes me back to a painful history, one where my ancestors endured the same dehumanizing racism that was meant to strip away their dignity. The fact that such a vile slur was used so casually in this day and age is a stark reminder that the trauma of those times is still very much alive.”
Vanzego reported the incident to a supervisor in the drive-thru lane who apologized, saying “There’s no excuse.” The supervisor also gave Vanzego a refund.
Video posted by Vanzego shows him also going inside the restaurant to confront the employee who allegedly wrote the slur. Vanzego spoke to a manager who said he couldn’t speak to the employee and gave him the contact information for the location’s general manager.
In a conversation with the general manager, Vanzego said he was told that management would address the issue, and they allegedly “begged” him “to not let this incident go viral.”
Vanzego said he also talked to the storeowner, who apologized but showed “no compassion.”
“When I asked (the store owner) if the team member that took my order will be terminated, his response was, ‘No, I spoke with him. He’s 17 years old and told me that he put down the name he thought he heard you say, so I stand with him and will not terminate him,’” Vanzego said.
In a statement, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson said the resturant “independently franchised and operated. The franchisee of this restaurant has apologized to the guest. However, this experience does not meet our expectations and is unacceptable.”
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